The question on how to fix America’s existing roadways creates strange political bedfellows. Fiscal conservatives are arguing the same thing as environmental conservationists – that fixing crumbling roads makes more sense than building new ones. Part of the reason why is that people simply are driving less than in the past. Environmentalists in the Midwest are cheering the decision of newly elected Illinois Governor (R) Bruce Rauner for cancelling the Illiana Expressway, a proposed 47-mile link between two interstates (I-65 in Indiana and I-55 in Illinois). Costs for the project…read more

Editor’s Note: The flooding associated with Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 far exceeded the conditions described in this 2015 story. The net effects on pavement quality are tertiary to the death and destruction of this storm, but the severe degree of potholes and other infrastructure deterioration will undoubtedly plague the region and impair rebuilding efforts in the months and years to come.   In late May 2015 Texas received enough rainfall to cover the entire state in eight inches of water. Together with the equally saturated state of Oklahoma, it was…read more